Often something can be made grander then it actually is, with lights, music, atmosphere. Knowledge lets you see what you want to see. Any ballet, bull fight, theater, aficionado (an ardent devotee; fan, enthusiast) will tell you that. If it becomes to personal or a friend is doing it, you don't see it for what it is.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Show business smoke and mirrors
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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13 comments:
Wade, I understand that often something can be made grander then it actually is with lights, music, and atmosphere. I always thought that knowledge makes an enthusiast more critical, but are you saying that knowledge also allows the enthusiast to see the performance through rose-colored glasses?
Mary Ann
Mary Ann,
No Mary Ann, if the enthusiast is knowledgeable, they see it for what it is. Not having the knowledge of an aficianado and being swayed by friendship will make the glasses darker then rose, and will lead to a decline as has been noted in today's circus arts. What makes many of the art's great is the demand placed on them by the knowledgeable. At the end of Swan Lake how many people got to go through the back door and "hang out" with the cast, and develop friendships?
Wade
Wade, at the end of the performance of Swan Lake that I went to, no one got to go through the back door and "hang out" with the cast, and develop friendships, for several reasons. The biggest reason was that it was a 3PM performance that ended at 5 PM, then they had to break down the sets, load a huge van, all ride downtown on a bus through a blizzard, set up again at another venue, in time for the curtain to go up at 8 PM. Besides, the language barrier would have been a problem; the cast was all Russian. I think I see your point.
Mary Ann
Mary Ann,
What you describe is every show in the world, plus sporting events, plus Professional rodeo. Which venue allows the folks to come and hang with the stars/performers/athletes? I'll bet if they had been there for 2 months it wouldn't have happened. Their "real friends" usually aren't fans or they are folks in the same line of work. Aficionado and fan are two different things. Fan's can be influenced, aficionados can't.
Wade
Well as I see these. Three completely different attempts. The white horses and Lorenzo was attempting difficulty and with that goes the territory. Six horses in tandem then bring the lead horses back to make four in front for a cross over jump. Because he brought the two front horses back to the two slot all hell broke loose. He though was going very fast in a small arena so I liked the difficulty but I think he remains open to error by letting the front horses drop back.
The 6 horse draft with riders was boring to me even though the horses stayed in hand. Just wasn't anything going on and the music was awful.
The black draft six is actually a carriage hitch and the cowboy drove them in. I saw it done one time in Wisconsin and it was fun.
However what do I know, I don't stand on horses, I sit on them.LOL
Dianne,
Very good. That was the point. Often it is the standing on, and number of horses that impresses. The venue with proper lights and music will also sell something. One does it professionally as an occupation and two do it occasionally as a demo. We should expect much, much more from the professional.
Wade
Wade,
We’ve had a couple of private emails when I sent you two clips from the Olympia horse show of this past December: “The Musical Drive of The King’s Troop, Royal House Artillery” which you posted and one of Lorenzo, which you have not because in some way it did not measure up for you. Yesterday, you emailed me the middle video shown in this posting and so I am responding here. I see nothing much happening except some roman riding. The music is horrible, dreadful in fact.
The post here of Lorenzo was new to me and certainly interesting because of the problems he had. In regards to the Lorenzo video I sent and admittedly effused over, you answered that “Professionals aren't to impressed…folks get too over impressed with young people like this guy Lorenzo.” I thank Ms. Rossi, who has spent more time atop a horse whether sitting or standing than most (I only rode weekly for a year or two about 35 years ago so I certainly don’t count!), for saying she liked the difficulty. What is not seen in this Lorenzo video is the jump he does while facing backward, or the forward jump where he purposely drops his reins at the peak of a jump, or the several more maneuvers where he has the various pairs criss-cross and do other tricks not seen in all of the many other videos I’ve seen of him. Try posting the Olympia tape!
I’m not sure if the two demos you speak of are amateurs or full-time professionals. Unless it is an all-amateur show or competition, I think any amateur that dares go in a public venue (especially with paying customers) had better be prepared to do something reasonably well if they wish to have such a longer presentation. Maybe the riders would have been okay but the music absolutely killed it—even any amateur, if that’s what they are, should have known better.
In addition to the skill of the trainer managing the horses, we also have the trainer as acrobat and Lorenzo is standing on horses with, as I see it, backs not as broad as that of the draft horses seen in the other videos. He also selected far better looking horses with flowing manes that stood out, white against the darkness of the arena. He rides bareback while the girls in the other video certainly rode with pads but I could never clearly see if the guy in the back had a pad or not. So, Lorenzo has showmanship (music, horse color) and difficult tricks. He is also much looser standing on the horse—he’s focused on directing his many other horses and experienced enough to not have to stand so stiffly, like the other worried fellow who has to focus on just staying atop his broader-backed horses. Lorenzo has the confidence to wave his other hand, his long legs pump up and down with the barebacked horses’ movement as they race about the arena. As I've heard countless times from circus people, it's not so much what you do as how you do it. (As was recently discussed on one blog, Beatty never did many tricks but he could sell the act!)
I think Lorenzo has good tricks with some flair and an act that just is not seen very much anymore. Maybe he would be just one of several if he was working 150 years ago but I’m not so sure. If I was the great Andrew Ducrow managing Astley’s Amphitheatre in London, I’d want him in my show.
Dick Flint
Baltimore
P.S. Please post Lorenzo at Olympia! And I’ve never seen the act live and certainly have not been backstage to “cut up jackpots” with him so I have not been "swayed by friendship!" LOL.
Dick,
The musical drive was the only one that was able to be posted, Dick. The other one would not post. As I recognized the name Lorenzo, the flying Frenchman on a French circus blog, I posted the one you see here from them.
I other videos as I stated, were posted to illustrate that the venue, with lights, music, etc. will do much to influence an act, that is all. I could have posted a number of videos of Roman riding doing the same behaviors as Lorenzo but all that are available are two horse teams. But the 6 horse were very common in rodeo's until the transport of that many horses miles and cost became difficult, and as rodeos started doing away with "specialty" acts. Dianne was comparing to the other acts doing nothing, and they were doing nothing, I never said they were. They were to illustrate a bare building with no stage, special music, or lights making something look one way, and the opposite making something look another way.
Reference past photos on the blog of Daniel Raffo in Europe and now on Ringling. That kind of illustration is not available for all acts, but in his case it is. The same act two different venues. One it looks like any act, and the other it looks "different", but they are the same act only with different costuming, and lighting and venue. Small show/Ringling
Dianne and her horse look great practicing, but you need to see it Dick with the Lord of the Dance music, the wall of fire video behind it. and the costuming. Her long line horse Roman is very good, but I am sure she will agree the lights, music, carousel, the bubbles took it to a whole new level.
I look at things like Lorenzo and all others and imagine a dirty dusty venue. If they impress, then I add the lights and atmosphere in my mind or visually.
All my life Dick, here is how I trained. As I was teaching a behavior, or if I had an idea for a behavior, I envisioned it surrounded by proper lights, music, etc. If it did not float my imaginary boat, I quite training it and attempted something different.
Dianne is much the same way. She will tell you when I would mention something like training a horse to go up on the stage, I would describe it with smoke, fire, lights, music as I described how it could be trained. The point is I strip that away, as I do with her horse Fire Magic and Roman. If it is impressive "naked", then I am impressed.
Wade
Addendum to Dick,
Can you imagine they are ripping Ringling and applauding the Gibtown Circus on the "history channel?" Go figure this business. Performers leaving because they can't make a living, cry because there are no good acts, then rag on 15.00 dollar popcorn and applaud the 3.00 box? One fellow even suggested on another blog that Ringling was responsible for the demise of the smaller shows, by charging so much for concessions and admission that families could not afford to go to another circus?????????? LOL
Wade
Dick, good for you, for an admitted non-horseman you saw what was pertinent. Lorenzo is exciting and he seem to press the limit all the time.
I know both the other acts. The man on the big drafts has been around for a long time, he hasn't changed just added more horses (all very common drafts) so in the horse entertainment community that made him " a star". The first time I saw him I thought it was suppose to be a comedy act,than realized he was serious and luckily he has come further than his first attempts. Mostly he walks around shirtless to display his wares. These people just don't know what entertainment is and feel that cantering around an arena with sidewalls so the horses can go only one place is astounding, add a couple girls and that are reaching for the stars.LOL. At the amateur entertainment office they fall for it.
The cowboy on the Belgian team did it for fun and still makes it fun because the horses really aren't trained for the gig and he was able to make it entertaining and the horses are beautiful.
The guy on the six black Perherons is Jason Goodman. He is the driver of the Priefert Ranch Equipment Texas Thunder Percheron Hitch. They do exhibitions around the country at fairs, rodeos, etc. Nice hitch that performs alot of high speed manuevers, swing docks, and a "spin the top" that starts in the center of the arena and continues to the arena walls. I got interested in Lorenzo a year ago after seeing a video of his performance at the Oman Arabian horse festival. I decided I wanted to know more about his act so I got a copy of his photo book and video which are both high quality. The book has some nice photos of him roman riding the horses through town, on and off of ferrys and of course the beach. The video though, goes through the training of the horses. he and brother train all the horses (14) and they are trained for more than roman riding, there were 2 doing a piaffe in hand, some rear and walks and circus style bows. Ther is also info on his father who was a farrier and stunt/trick rider and started Lorenzo at the age of 8. He may not be the greatest of all but this is pretty respectable stuff.
Not that it matters but some may find it interesting but Jason Goodman was an apprentice driver/handler to Dick Sparrow's forty-horse hitch.
Dianne,
Now we are getting the gist of the three videos. You and Dick both described "show business smoke and mirrors":
Mostly he walks around shirtless to display his wares. These people just don't know what entertainment is and feel that cantering around an arena with sidewalls so the horses can go only one place is astounding, add a couple girls and that are reaching for the stars.LOL. At the amateur entertainment office they fall for it.
Lorenzo has the confidence to wave his other hand, his long legs pump up and down with the barebacked horses’ movement as they race about the arena. As I've heard countless times from circus people, it's not so much what you do as how you do it.
Dianne, Tell Dick how much a horse enjoys somebody walking/jumping on his back, with out a pad or staying on the hips. Do you suppose those horses with the long flowing manes could have been a team at one time, similar to the Belgium hitch? How high was the car Rex Roman rode the jump over. Did he ever use 4-6 which was the norm in the rodeo specialty act glory years? As Dick sees this as a great deal for the circus, what's the chances it or Rex could have worked in that venue?
When I tell folks who are impressed with one horse running around an arena free or a couple checked up and they call it true liberty because there is no 42 ft. ring, I point out not if they are confined by arena walls it isn't any different. A dog heeling without a leash while walking done the street is "truly at liberty." The damnedest thing is when it is referred to as "liberty dressage". That's kinda pissing on what liberty(with out rider or handler) in a 43 foot ring with a group of horses, and dressage historically mean. LOL
Wade
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